The new logo divided the representatives of Karlovy Vary, some wanted to ban it

New logo of Karlovy Vary

Karlovy Vary - The new logo of the city has divided the representatives of Karlovy Vary, along with the visual representation of materials intended for promotion, for example at trade fairs. The appearance of the new visual elements was chosen by the city information center through a public competition and approved by the council. Opposition representatives from the ČSSD and ODS today described the logo as unsuccessful. The ČSSD demanded that it should not be used and that the city return to the original. Their proposal was defeated by two votes.
    City councilor Richard Ullisch (ČSSD) called for a return to the original logo, noting that it replaces a previous, in his opinion artistically successful symbol of the city. Jiří Kotek (Alternativa) described the new artistic endeavor as a Christmas hallucination. "It’s not a trivial matter, but a relatively serious problem. The logo, including other visual elements, is what the city uses to present itself abroad. There were only 17 designs in the competition, which is quite few. I missed renowned authors in the entries," Kotek stated.
    Karlovy Vary currently uses the name of the city as its logo, with two words separated by a red arch symbolizing the eruption of the Vřídlo spring. Starting this year, it will be replaced on all materials by a logo dominated by the city name, where "Karlovy" is in blue and "Vary" is in red. At the end, the temperature degree symbol is added. The proposal was defended by Mayor Petr Kulhánek (KOA), stating that the old logo was solitary and lacked connectivity to other graphic elements used by the city. "The new logo will allow for this connection," he stated.
    He rejected the opposition's remarks that the introduction of the new logo would unnecessarily cost the city significant money that could be used more efficiently. The highest direct cost is 150,000 crowns, which is the author’s fee resulting from the contract concluded with the winner of the competition, the mayor pointed out. According to him, the city has not ordered new printed materials for almost half a year in light of the upcoming logo change, and has been using materials purchased earlier. "Materials, whether city letterheads or other printed materials, will already be printed with the new logo," he added.
    The new visual design will also affect the city’s websites and change the graphic appearance of the City Hall newsletters published by the city. The creator of the new logo and visual representation of promotional materials is thirty-one-year-old graphic designer Eva Hudečková from Plzeň. She has designed objects and completed graphic work for the "Pilgrimage to the Planets" project for the Techmania science center in Plzeň. She has also participated in several international artistic workshops and exhibitions, such as the Plzeň Benches project in 2006 or Europe Without Barriers.